Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on 20 November.

Top stories

The Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, has stunned the nation by refusing to resign, saying instead that he will preside over a Zanu-PF party congress in a few weeks – ignoring the fact he is no longer its leader. Mugabe has just delivered a televised address to his impoverished nation in which he was widely expected to announce his resignation. The ruling Zanu-PF had given the president a deadline of noon on Monday to resign or face impeachment but the 93-year-old leader defied the ultimatum. “The congress is due in a few weeks from now,” Mugabe said. “I will preside over its processes which must not be prepossessed by any acts calculated to undermine it or to compromise the outcomes in the eyes of the public.”

The head of Zimbabwe’s liberation war veterans, Chris Mutsvangwa, said Mugabe was “deaf and blind” to the desires of the people and that plans for Mugabe’s impeachment would now proceed. Mutsvangwa said it was time for the president – who has been in power 37 years – to step down. “We would expect that Mugabe would not have the prospect of the military shooting at people, trying to defend him,” he said. “The choice is his.” More than 200 Zanu-PF leaders voted to sack Mugabe as the party’s leader in an extraordinary meeting in Harare, the capital, on Sunday morning. The the divisive first lady, Grace Mugabe, and 20 of her closest associates were also expelled.

Australia’s power grid can reach penetrations of 50% renewable energy without a significant requirement for storage to support reliability, according to a new report commissioned by Australia’s chief scientist, Alan Finkel. While the Turnbull government has made much of the need for storage to increase security and reliability in the national power grid, the new report from the Australian Council of Learned Academies (Acola) says at an aggregated national level, 50% renewables is possible without major investments in storage for reliability purposes.

“More pigs will be revealed” – Asia Argento has spoken out on life after accusing Weinstein of rape. TheItalian actor says she has welcomed the sexual misconduct exposés since her own account was published, but laments the slow awakening in her home country, where she reveals she has always felt oppressed. “We have been so lobotomised by the objectification of women that we, as women, don’t even know that we are being harassed and treated the wrong way,” she said. “Here people don’t understand. They’ll say, ‘oh it’s just touching tits’. Well yeah, and this is a very grave thing for me. It is not normal. You can’t touch me, I am not an object.”

At the official launch of the LNP campaign, with Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Dutton, George Brandis and Matt Canavan to his left, and Campbell Newman and fellow former premier Rob Borbidge to his right, LNP leader Tim Nicholls almost cried. Speaking of his family, and the sacrifices they had made as he chased his dream to lead the state, Nicholls, the man who once faced down unionists with a laugh, and waved merrily to protesters, choked up. “Mary,” he said, directing his words to his wife who sat with their children on stage, “I could never do this job without you and I wouldn’t be the man I am today without your love. And without your wisdom.”

The City of Sydney council has been criticised for publicising an anti-vaccination event on the “what’s on” part of its website,with politicians and doctors demanding it be removed. The $15 “Let’s talk about vaccines” information night is scheduled for Monday and promises to answer questions such as: “Government, media and the medical community are pushing more and more vaccines on us. Why?” The event is to feature a talk by vocal anti-vaccination activist Dr Judith Wilyman and was organised by the No Jab No Pay No Way – Freedom of Choice anti-vaccination group.

Sport

The Wallabies’ loss to England on Sunday was most notable for Michael Cheika’s incandescent rage at the refereeing. This has also been a feature of Australia’s past four defeats against England. Is this really the kind of image Australian rugby union wants to project to the world?

Thinking time

Sarah Silverman (right), In her show I Love You America. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

In a sprawling, revealing interview Sophie Heawood sits down with comedian Sarah Silverman, to discuss post-fact America, the Harvey Weinstein scandal, and rescue dog Molly, who sleeps in Silverman’s bed, in Silverman’s tiny apartment, in Silverman’s ever-expanding world. “This is going to sound obnoxious,” Silverman says, “but Mom always said be your own best friend, and I really, really mastered that. There is no one I’d rather hang out with,” she points at herself, “than this guy.”

Amazon’s imminent launch in Australia threatens vibrant, community-orientated retail scenes, says independent bookshop owner Mark Rubbo. Bookstores are agents of culture, not just commerce, and along with local cafes, pubs, clubs, delis and theatres, they bind communities together, he says. “When publishers and authors from the UK and US visit … they’re amazed by how many independent bookshops Australia has,” he says. “In the US, there were roughly 6,000 independent bookstores in the early 1990s. In 2017 there are just 2,321.”

A mural depicting the late singer George Michael as a saint has been defaced in Sydney by a man claiming to be defending his religion. It is the second time it has been vandalised in as many days. But while the 23-year-old accused of Saturday’s vandalism was being charged, the community gathered in Erskineville to put a positive spin on the large swaths of black paint covering Scott Marsh’s mural. Messages including “Too late, love won” and “#alllivesmatter” have appeared on the artwork, titled St George.

“Now that the three basketball players are out of China and saved from years in jail, LaVar Ball, the father of LiAngelo, is unaccepting of what I did for his son and that shoplifting is no big deal. I should have left them in jail!

Media roundup

The front page of the Canberra Times today. Photograph: Fairfax Media

The Canberra Times leads with a photograph of Emily Stokes, whose mysterious and debilitating condition was solved by the Canberra Centre for Personalised Immunology, who were able to fully sequence her genome and diagnose Stokes with the incredibly rare Yao syndrome, an autoinflammatory disease of which there are fewer than 100 documented cases in the world.

The Hobart Mercury splashes with prison inmate Sue Neill-Fraser (paywall) beginning a hunger strike in protest at being forced to move cells after “unusual” contraband was found in her cell, her family says. Neill-Fraser is serving a 23-year sentence after being convicted of the murder of her de facto partner on a yacht, and is one of Tasmania’s most divisive criminals, with many convinced she was wrongfully convicted.

And the ABC has a fun read posing the questions: is everyone who lives in Canberra a public servant? The article delves into the statistics of how many public service the state actually has (42%) and explores what their lives are like.

Coming up

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will be campaigning in Cairns on Monday as the state gears up for Saturday’s poll.

The World Toilet Summit and Expo kicks off in Melbourne promoting global access to water and sanitation.

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